Shinedown Roars Like a Lion on the Avalanche Tour

Shinedown Avalanche Tour with Art of Dying and Adelitas Way The Rave – Milwaukee, WI 4/13/2012
All Photos by Paul Weber

Shinedown could very well go down in history as having one of the greatest frontmen in rock and roll. The band also has that special sauce with a bite to make them stand out in a world saturated by musicians. Each one of their four studio albums placed on rock charts and not many rock acts can say that. Collectively their albums have already sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

The group just released their fourth studio album, Amaryllis, and it has already spawned the radio rock anthem “Bully.” Alongside Amaryllis’ release accompanied an eBook FOR YOUR SAKE: Inside the Making of Shinedown’s Amaryllis. It is an interactive book with 75 pages of words, never-before-seen photos, and videos. The eBook was a joint effort with rock journalist Jonah Bayer and Atlantic Records. The eBook is available for purchase here for $5.99.

Last night as Shinedown took the stage the first thing that struck me was Brent’s appearance. Last time I saw Shinedown was back in 2010 and Brent looked like he filled out (it happens to the best of us). Yet, when he walked out onstage last night, my mouth dropped. He looked fantastic! His weight loss didn’t just affect his physique; his energy level was at an all-time high. Brent was intense and much more dramatic than he was two years ago. Now let’s get something straight here–back in 2010 I thought the show was amazing; this time around I was just blown away.

Brent and Zach mix to make up that special sauce I was talking about earlier. Their comradery onstage shows the love between the guys. Zach took to his solos with such ease as not to skip a beat. As many Shinedown fans know, Zach takes to his solo work when Shinedown is in hiatus mode, so he manages to keep his chops up to par.

I do need to mention the spectacular lighting for Shinedown. I really didn’t think the stage was going to be so lit up as it was even though this is Shinedown we are talking about. The lighting was so poor for the openers Art of Dying and Adelitas Way that there was some concern of what it was going to look like when the headliners hit the stage. All the light was aimed at the back of the stage by the drummer yet both openers took the very front of the stage with little light.

The set was a great mix of songs from each of their 4 albums and the night ended with some of their biggest hits to date including “Second Chance,” “Simple Man,” and “Bully.”